Google moves to make search better

Google is moving to make search better, the company has detailed, after pushing out a new algorithm that it says will mean better results and less rubbish on the first page when you search for something.

“Our goal is simple: to give people the most relevant answers to their queries as quickly as possible. This requires constant tuning of our algorithms, as new content - both good and bad - comes online all the time,” says Amit Singhal, Google fellow, and Matt Cutts, principal engineer.

While the company admits that it is constantly tweaking the system to make it better all the time, the latest update will change around 11.8 per cent of queries - a considerably shift.

“This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites - sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful,” the duo explain. “At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites - sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on.”

“If you take the top several dozen or so most-blocked domains from the Chrome extension, then this algorithmic change addresses 84% of them, which is strong independent confirmation of the user benefits,” the two comment.

At the moment the change in the rankings will only affect Google.com users in the US, however Google plans to roll out the new algorithm to other countries “over time”.